Convertible Laptop (11.6")

Rebecca.

Hi all,

Looking for some advice. I'm looking to buy a small laptop/ultrabook (11.6" or less with proper keyboard), but something that can also be used in tablet mode - whether that's a removeable tablet or the screen folds down forming a tablet. Currently I'm leaning towards the Lenovo Yoga 2 11, but I'm just wondering whether anyone can recommend anything better at the same or lower cost?

Thanks

TheSaint_2

It depends on what you want to do with it.


I have an Asus vivotab which runs 8.1 pro on an Intel centrino. You can buy either the official keyboard or just plug a USB or wireless one in as it has a USB port (you need a micro USB adapter). It comes with full office for free too which is great for the price of around £300. There is another Asus model which comes with the detachable keyboard, and has a slightly better processor but less disk storage at only 32gb.


You could buy a surface pro 3 if you want best in class, that will run games as it runs an I series processor.


My Asus is fine for apps, browsing and some desktop stuff like office. I can even run oracle virtualbox and run one virtual machine on it at a time with no issues.

PenguinJim

The Yoga 2 11 is NOT a Windows 8 hybrid! Be careful! It only runs Windows RT and the limited range of "apps" on RT.

The Yoga 2 11S uses proper Windows 8. It originally had an Ivybridge processor, but there's a newer version with the Intel Core i5-4210Y Haswell CPU - make sure you get the Haswell. The resolution is only 1366x768, which is low, but on an 11.6-inch screen isn't "too" low, and the advantage is that you can use Windows 8 without using its scaling (which is sometimes a bit iffy). It's a tad more practical, but not something to show off to your friends! However, it does use that impractical 16:9 ratio (16:9 panels are very cheap to make, but they're only at their best when watching 16:9 TV/movies).

What price have you seen it for? Feel free to link so we can check it's the best price and the correct spec. If you can't find a bargain price, I think the Surface 3 Pro might be a better bet - but it's not out until August. Alternatively, the Surface Pro 2 is still worth considering, and if you've got a couple of weeks to shop, you might be able to find an excellent clearance bargain. If you buy from the Microsoft Store, don't forget the 2.1% cashback using Topcashback.

TheSaint wrote: »

You could buy a surface pro 3 if you want best in class, that will run games as it runs an I series processor.

They're Haswell-ULT chips at the moment, good for battery life, and the i5-128GB Surface 3 does look like the best balance of cost/performance. But until they move over to Broadwell and have the Iris for onboard graphics (perhaps a refresh in five-six months?), 3D gaming performance will still be extremely limited at anything from 1366x768 - and even then, you'll need settings on "Low" or lower!

It still looks like a great pad for my OH, though - the speed, weight, battery life and Wacom support (using a pen for art) for ~£800 for the i5/128 version is tempting enough, but that useful 3:2 aspect ratio (bye bye cheap and nasty 1080P!) makes it almost impossible to resist. But not available for a couple of months.

Rebecca.

PenguinJim wrote: »

The Yoga 2 11 is NOT a Windows 8 hybrid! Be careful! It only runs Windows RT and the limited range of "apps" on RT.

The Yoga 2 11S uses proper Windows 8. It originally had an Ivybridge processor, but there's a newer version with the Intel Core i5-4210Y Haswell CPU - make sure you get the Haswell. The resolution is only 1366x768, which is low, but on an 11.6-inch screen isn't "too" low, and the advantage is that you can use Windows 8 without using its scaling (which is sometimes a bit iffy). It's a tad more practical, but not something to show off to your friends! However, it does use that impractical 16:9 ratio (16:9 panels are very cheap to make, but they're only at their best when watching 16:9 TV/movies).

What price have you seen it for? Feel free to link so we can check it's the best price and the correct spec. If you can't find a bargain price, I think the Surface 3 Pro might be a better bet - but it's not out until August. Alternatively, the Surface Pro 2 is still worth considering, and if you've got a couple of weeks to shop, you might be able to find an excellent clearance bargain. If you buy from the Microsoft Store, don't forget the 2.1% cashback using Topcashback.



They're Haswell-ULT chips at the moment, good for battery life, and the i5-128GB Surface 3 does look like the best balance of cost/performance. But until they move over to Broadwell and have the Iris for onboard graphics (perhaps a refresh in five-six months?), 3D gaming performance will still be extremely limited at anything from 1366x768 - and even then, you'll need settings on "Low" or lower!

It still looks like a great pad for my OH, though - the speed, weight, battery life and Wacom support (using a pen for art) for ~£800 for the i5/128 version is tempting enough, but that useful 3:2 aspect ratio (bye bye cheap and nasty 1080P!) makes it almost impossible to resist. But not available for a couple of months.

Thanks for your response. Are you sure it's not full windows 8? Everywhere I've seem it the operating system had been listed as windows 8 - in my experience RT models tend to have RT specified in the operating system?

I can get the Yoga 2 11 for £450 via the lenovo student programme - if anyone can find it cheaper I'd be happy to hear from you

I'll have a look at the other models you mentioned this evening. I do need something asap though, so the surface 3 doesn't sound suitable.

PenguinJim

Rebecca. wrote: »

Thanks for your response. Are you sure it's not full windows 8? Everywhere I've seem it the operating system had been listed as windows 8 - in my experience RT models tend to have RT specified in the operating system?

I can get the Yoga 2 11 for £450 via the lenovo student programme - if anyone can find it cheaper I'd be happy to hear from you

I'm sorry, you're right - I didn't know they'd released a newer model with a Pentium CPU and Windows 8! (I should have known to been more careful, as I was stumbling through their naming system in December when I was buying!)

It uses a 500GB HDD rather than a "snappy" but smaller SSD, so it won't impress with its speed, but it won't be too slow either. Be careful not to pick up a Yoga with the "Tegra" chipset, which will be Windows RT.

How much more is the 11S in their student program? It may well be worth an extra £100, or perhaps a bit more.

We’re not sure what makes this new model worthy of the name “Yoga 2.” The now-retired Yoga 11S weighed two-tenths of a pound less, was more attractive, and was substantially quicker in SiSoft Sandra’s Processor Arithmetic test, where it scored 28.4 GOPS. That’s almost 250 percent quicker than the new Yoga 2 11-inch. In exchange for all these downgrades, the new Yoga 2 gains a mere half-hour of additional battery life. Sure, the Yoga 11S was slightly more expensive, but it was also good.
-Reviewed by Doctor Who actor Matt Smith. Where does he find the time?

Edit: 3.15% cashback at the Lenovo site!

You can also find the 11S on eBay - importing a refurbished model would be cheaper than £450 from a couple of sellers, from what I can see.

And as you're a student (I assume!), £584 for the 128GB Surface Pro 2 at the Microsoft Store, with £12 of that back through TCB. 1080P, fast, Wacom support - but no included keyboard, so you might want a "Touch Cover" or "Type Cover" for ~£100 (the Type Cover keeps getting recommended over the Touch Cover).

Any chance you could swing by a retailer and see some of these in person?

Anne_Marie_2

You might want to have a look at the Dell XPS 11 or 12 on the Dell Factory Outlet.
http://outlet.euro.dell.com/Online/InventorySearch.aspx?brandId=7&c=uk&cs=ukdfh1